I couldn't decide whether to start a training journal, a blog or both. I don't think I'll update either enough to justify having both. And I'm not really into a good routine or a serious training program at the moment. So I figured I'll start this blog for random rants and raves and the occasional workout. If I get more serious about training, which I hope to do, I'll start a training journal as well.

This week is Bike Fest, an annual celebration of pedal-powered locomotion. The weeks events kicked off Friday with the monthly Critical Mass. Held on the last Friday of the month, Critical Mass is an event where cyclists take to (over) the streets in mass to raise motorist awareness about cyclists. The Critical Mass at the start of the annual Bike Fest is usually the biggest. The following pictures are from Friday's ride and they fail to do justice to the hundreds of local cyclists who attended this years event.

The monthly Critical Mass usually ends with a party, so of course this months Critical Mass ended with a massive Bike Fest party with Lots of beer, food, music and dancing. Last month's Critical Mass ended for me with a flat tire. I then had to walk my back nearly five miles back to my home. Needless to say that this month's Critical Mass ended on a much happier note. Yay!

I went down to the North Shore on Wednesday to watch the fireworks show. They shot the fireworks off of a barge tied to the point and had the "ground show" off the top of two skyscrapers Downtown. I don't really think of myself as a fireworks fan, but I have to admit it was fun. Here are three three-minute videos I shot of the show: Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3

Sorry about the bridge. I have a couple more clips, but there was a lot of moister in the air that was causing the smoke to stick, so the rest of the fireworks weren't as clear.

So, I already posted about Critical Mass and the opening of BikeFest. Now a post about how BikeFest closed on Sunday with a bike tour of the Underground Railroad as it went through my city. (No, this isn't the 2,100 mile bike tour from Mobile, Ala., to Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada, passing through Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York along the way. Although that would have been a nice tour to go on.) It was a three-hour tour around Pittsburgh. It was really cool to learn about people and places like the Monongahela House (stop 1: part 1, part 2), Martin Delany (stop 2: part 1, part 2), John Vashon and the role of Black owned businesses (stop 3: part 1, part 2), Felix Brunot and others who assisted escaping slaves (stop 4: part 1, part 2, part 3), and the Avery Institute (stop 5: part 1, part 2, part 3)